mizChartreuse!

I love artistry, creativity, and originality, but I also understand that people are influenced by others. It’s one thing to be a poseur, blatantly ripping off other artists. However, I think it’s another thing to take what you’ve been exposed to, and use a piece of art as inspiration to create something new. How many things are purely original? I mean, even if you draw a picture of a tree with crayons, your coloring will still be your own rendering of something that already exists.

Getting to the point- I only realized last night that pop/r&b/rock band Hanson’s music video for their latest single, “Thinkin’ Bout Something” was a complete homage to the scene in the movie Blues Brothers where John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Ray Charles perform “Shake A Tail Feather.”

“We love playing classic songs,” says Zac Hanson in the band’s official biography. “But we never sat down and wrote our version of what that sounds like until now.”

They literally replicated the dances in the movie, nearly frame for frame, in their music video. I knew that that video was inspired by the movie, but I didn’t realize that they were so similar when played simultaneously.

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“I lean against the wind, pretend that I am weightless, and in this moment I am happy.”

It was 90 degrees, sunny, and breezy last Sunday morning. I laid down in the front part of the speedboat, closed my eyes, and listened to the water rushing past me and the laughter of my friends tubing 100 feet behind me. I felt completely at peace; my life was a paradise.

My version of Heaven. And I didn't even have to pray to get there!

I don’t know if you knew this, but I am a millionaire.

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Last night was one for the history books, and a year from now we’ll all be amazed at how far she’s come from her first live performance in fourteen years.

I’m talking about my fierce friend Laura Michelle Clarke, one of the most talented singer/songwriters I’ve been blessed to have in my life. On Wednesday, July 21, she broke off the last of her chains, stepped into the spotlight, and sang her heart out to a crowded room during open mic night at Palatine’s Lamplighter Inn.

Laura Michelle performs at Lamplighter Inn

Here’s the first song she opened with, “Secret War,” a Laura Michelle original.

Laura’s story goes beyond just getting the guts to play guitar and sing in front of an audience– hers is a tale of victory over seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

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Something is very, very wrong with the shit that many of us shovel into our bodies every day.

I’m not a fan of Red Lobster. Same goes for places like Olive Garden, Friday’s, and Chili’s. Basically, I’m referring to large chain restaurants that have franchises and spend millions on advertising. And basically, most things with major corporate backgrounds can suck it. So I’m referring to basically anything you see on television or hear on the radio.

Basically. Basically basically basically.

Too many of us think it’s acceptable to eat basic-ass shit.

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I met so many interesting people in June! My friend Sanjay emailed me a few weeks ago inviting me to an event his company would be sponsoring. He briefly described the event as “aiming to bring together the black and gay populations by starting a conversation.”

Fair enough. I enjoy discussions about marginalized groups! It was a vague synopsis, but Sanjay is quite the cultured individual and I trust his judgment when it comes to social gatherings. I also like to jump in headfirst and experience things that don’t happen every day.

As one of the first to arrive at the Baker & McKenzie offices in the Prudential building downtown, I marveled at the view from the 39th floor and chatted with a number of other guests over cocktails and h’ors d’oeuvres.

After talking with some Baker associates, I learned that a Dr. E. Patrick Johnson of Northwestern University would be speaking and reading to the group from his book, Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South. Awesome.

Dr. Johnson is chair of Northwestern’s Department of African-American Studies, as well as a graduate professor of performance studies, theatre and drama, screen culture, and African-American studies.

In addition to his scholarly work, he is an award-winning author and actor who has toured the country performing his solo show, “Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell Their Stories,” based on excerpts from his most recent book.

I knew I was in for a treat– and some inspiration.

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